Seit einigen Jahren wächst in der Gewaltforschung das Interesse an raumtheoretischen Analysen. Anhand qualitativer Fallstudien gehen die Beiträge dieses Bandes der Frage nach, wie Gewaltdynamiken soziale Räume prägen oder verändern und wie umgekehrt soziale Räume Gewaltdynamiken beeinflussen.

“This collection of essays addresses important topics in the history of European feminisms. It goes beyond national histories to examine transnational contacts, comparisons, and transfers… The essays are by an interesting collection of authors, some already very well known in the field, and others promising junior scholars.” · Ann Taylor Allen, University of Louisville

Recent debates have used the concept of “transnational history” to broaden research on historical subjects that transcend national boundaries and encourage a shift away from official inter-state interactions to institutions, groups, and actors that have been obscured. This approach proves particularly fruitful for the dynamic field of global gender and women’s history. By looking at the restless lives and work of women’s activists in informal border-crossings, ephemeral NGOs, the lower management of established international organizations, and other global networks, this volume reflects the potential of a new perspective that allows for a more adequate analysis of transnational activities. By pointing out cultural hierarchies, the vicissitudes of translation and re-interpretation, and the ambiguity of intercultural exchange, this volume demonstrates the critical potential of transnational history. It allows us to see the limits of universalist and cosmopolitan claims so dear to many historical actors and historians.

Oliver Janz is Professor of Contemporary History at Freie Universität Berlin and has been Visiting Professor in Berne, Trento and Rome. He is editor-in-chief of 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. His recent publications include: Das symbolische Kapital der Trauer. Nation, Religion und Familie im italienischen Gefallenenkult des Ersten Weltkriegs (2009), Dolce Vita? Das Bild der italienischen Migranten in Deutschland (2011) and 14 - Der Große Krieg (2013).

Daniel Schönpflug is Vice Director of the Centre Marc Bloch in Berlin. His publications include Luise von Preußen. Königin der Herzen (2010) and Die Heiraten der Hohenzollern. Verwandtschaft, Ritual und Politik in Europa 1640-1918 (2013). In recognition of his commitment to Franco-German scholarly exchange, Daniel Schönpflug received the Gay-Lussay-Humboldt-Award in 2010.

Fürstenheiraten stellten in der Frühen Neuzeit eine komplexe sozio-kulturelle Praxis dar, deren Bedeutung für die europäische Politik bislang noch nicht zum Gegenstand wissenschaftlicher Untersuchung geworden ist. Heiraten waren ein zentraler Faktor der Außenpolitik, die auf die räumlich-terri­toriale Gestalt Europas tief greifende Auswirkungen hatten. Doch auch wenn sich das außenpolitische System in der Sattelzeit grundlegend änderte, spielten Heiraten noch im 19. Jahrhundert eine wich­tige Rolle für die ritualisierte, per­so­nalisierte, emo­tio­na­li­sierte und dadurch besonders breiten­wirk­same Inszenierung po­litischer Be­ziehungen. Daniel Schönpflug untersucht die Ver­mäh­lungen der Hohenzollern mit den preußischen, niederländischen, englisch-hanno­verschen und russi­schen Herr­scher­dy­nastien zwischen 1648 und 1918 und zeigt, dass das 19. Jahrhundert nicht als »Zeitalter der Revolu­tionen«, sondern als »Zeitalter der Monarchien« betrachtet werden muss.

Mit einem Beitrag von Kolja Lindner.

The revolutions of 1789 and 1917 were defining moments for religious history in France, Russia, and even in Europe as a whole. Drawing on the self-portrayals of some of the most radical actors, historians have presented revolutionaries as enemies of the church, and men of the church either as counter-revolutionaries or as victims of revolution. Revolution and religion have appeared as antagonistic forces, representing the struggle of modernity against tradition. Only recently have these conventional patterns of interpretation been questioned. Historians explore the religious origins of revolutions, look at clergymen and churches as revolutionary actors and analyze how revolutionary movements appropriate religious patterns of thought and behaviour. In the French and in the Russian context, revolutions are seen as moments in which the sacred was redefined.